Part six (4): Xii. Mysteries of the Life of the Blessed Virgin

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Finally, you may honor the Blessed Virgin by special prayers or works of devotion, such as the Rosary, which ought to be in common use among all Christians, and the Office of Our Lady, which you should recite in union with the love and devotion of her Son Jesus for her, in honor of both their perfect lives and of their sublime virtues.

Let me also add one word more. Each year, you should honor a special mystery of Jesus, as has been said above. It is aIso good each year, on the day of the Blessed Virgin's Assumption, to choose one of the mysteries of her life for particular veneration during the year. For that reason I have set down the chief of these mysteries.

Xii. Mysteries of the Life of the Blessed Virgin

The chief states and mysteries of the life of the Most Blessed Virgin are: her Conception; her abiding in the blessed bosom of her mother, St. Anne; her Nativity; the day on which she received the holy name of Mary, eight days after her birth; her Presentation in the Temple; her childhood up to the age of twelve years; her life and service in the Temple until the age of fifteen years; her holy marriage to St. Joseph, the feast of which is kept in some churches on the fifteenth of January; the Incarnation of Jesus and the Annunciation of her dignity of mother of God; her Visitation and three months' stay with her cousin, St. Elizabeth; her journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem; the birth of her divine Child; the flight into Egypt and her sojourn there with the Child Jesus and St. Joseph; her return from Egypt and hidden life in Nazareth with her Son Jesus, until he attained the age of thirty years; all the journeys she shared with her Son Jesus, following Him everywhere throughout His public ministry; her martyrdom at the foot of the Cross; her joy in the Resurrection and Ascension of her Son; the close of her life on earth, from the Ascension until her own Assumption; the holy Communions she received during that time; her most happy death; her Assumption in triumph; her glorious enthrone. ment at the right hand of her Son, her coronation as Queen of heaven and earth; and her most blessed life in heaven since the Assumption.

XIII. PRAYER HONORING JESUS CHRIST IN His BLESSED MOTHER

0 Jesus, Only Son of God, Only Son of Mary, I adore Thee in one general act of adoration in all Thou art and in all that Thou hast ever brought about in Thy most holy Mother. And I adore Thee particularly and love and glorify Thee in all that Thou art and all that Thou hast brought about in her Conception, Nativity, Presentation, and the other mysteries of her life.

0 my Jesus, I take infinite joy in contemplating Thee so great, so admirable, so glorified, and so loved in Thy Blessed Mother.

With my whole heart I thank Thee for all the glory Thou hast ever given and ever shalt give Thyself in her perpetually.

I beg Thee to forgive me, 0 my Saviour, for all the failings of which I have been guilty with respect to the honor due to Thy most honorable Mother, and for everything I have ever done in my life that was displeasing to her. May it please Thee to atone for my defects, and render to her on my behalf all the honor I should have given her during my whole life.

0 Jesus, I refer to Thee all the effects of sanctity and love which Thou hast ever produced in Thy lovable Mother, and I offer Thee all the glory and love that was ever given Thee in her and by her.

0 Good Jesus, I give myself all to Thee. Destroy in me everything that is displeasing to Thy holy Mother. Give me entirely to her. Grant that all my life and actions may be consecrated to the honor of her admirable life. Grant me to share in Thy love and zeal for her glory, or rather for Thy glory through her, as well as in her most pure and shining love for Thee, her burning zeal for Thy glory, her humility and her other virtues. Finally, deign to make use of me, 0 Jesus my Lord, to glorify Thee, and cause Thee to be glorified in her, in every way that shall please Thy holy will.

Xiv. Prayer to the Blessed Virgin, Applicable to Any Mystery of her Life

0 Holy Virgin, with all the powers of my being, I adore and honor thy Son Jesus in thee. I honor and reverence thee according to what thou art in Him and by Him, particularly in the mystery of thy Im

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maculate Conception, Nativity, etc. I honor all the sentiments and dispositions of thy holy soul, and all that took place in thee in this mystery.

Blessed be thou, 0 Holy Virgin, for all the glory Thou hast given God in this most precious mystery and in thy whole life.

I beg thee to forgive me, 0 Mother of Mercy, for all the lapses and sins I have committed against thee and they Dear Son. To satisfy for these I offer thee all the honor and praises that have ever been accorded thee in heaven and on earth.

0 Mother of Jesus, I give myself all to thee, imploring thy sweet mercy to give me to thy Son and to destroy in me by thy merits and prayers all that displeases Him. Grant me to share in thy most pure love, thy humility and all thy myriad, resplendent virtues.

Grant that my whole life and each of my acts may be consecrated to the honor of the life and actions of thy Dear Son. Unite me to all the ardent love and perfect glory thou dost and wilt give Him forever. Take my being, my life and all that is in me, and employ me as a creature that is entirely thine, in order to glorify Him in every way thou mayest wish. 276-

Devotion to the Saints

Xv. Manner of Honoring Jesus in the Saints and the Saints in Jesus

You ought to cultivate devotion to all the saints and angels, especially to your guardian angel and your patron saint, to the saints who knew Our Lord on earth, to the order of angels and saints with whom you are to be associated in heaven, and to the angels and saints who are charged to watch over the places where you live or travel, and protect your circle of friends.

You should honor them because Jesus Christ loves and honors them: Quicumque glorificaverit me, glorificabo eum. "Whosoever shall glorify me, him will I glorify" (1 Kings 2, 30). And He adds. that the Eternal Father honors those who serve His Son: "If any man minister to me," says the Son of God, "him will my Father honor" (John 12, 26). Likewise because they love and honor Jesus, they are His friends, His servants, His children, His members, and, as it were, part of Himself. Finally, to honor them is to honor Him because He is everything in them.

Therefore, you ought to venerate the relics of the saints as a portion of Jesus and part of His members. You should carry relics upon your person in union with the love with which He preserves all the saints, from all eternity, in His Sacred Heart, in order to unite yourself with the love and praises of each of the saints, whose relics you carry with you or honor at their shrines.

To honor the saints in a fitting manner:

1. You should adore Jesus in them, for in them He is everything: omnia in omnibus (Eph. 1, 23). He is their being, their life, their sanctity, their joy and their glory. You should thank Him for the praise and glory rendered to Himself in them and by them, and thank Him more for this than for the graces He imparted to them, or imparted to you through them, because God's interests should be dearer to you than your own. You ought to offer Him all the honor and love

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that His saints ever rendered to Him, asking His infinite bounty to make you participate in their ardent love and all their other eminent virtues.

Thus, when you go on a pilgrimage, or receive Holy Communion, or celebrate Holy Mass, or perform any devout action in honor of any saint, you should offer it to Jesus, for the above 'intentions, in the following manner:

"0 Jesus, I offer Thee this journey, this Communion, this Mass, or this act, in honor of all that Thou art in this saint; in thanksgiving for all the glory that Thou hast given to Thyself in him and by him ; for the increase of his glory, or rather the increase of Thy glory in h.him; for the accomplishment of all the designs which Thou hast in regard to him, and that Thou mayest grant me through his prayers and intercession, Thy holy love and all the other graces necessary for me to serve Thee perfectly."

2. When you have recourse to the saints, you ought to be humble, considering yourself most unworthy even to think of them, or to be thought of by them. You should thank the saints for the service and glory they have given to Our Lord and offer yourself to them, asking them to offer you to Jesus, to beg Him to destroy in you everything that displeases Him and to cause you to share in the wealth of graces imparted to them. You should further implore them to honor and love Him for you, and to render to Him a hundred times over all the love and glory you should have given Him. Offer yourself to the saints to be used to honor and glorify Him in any way they see fit.

3. Every city, town and village has its heavenly guardians, so when you are travelling or reach a destination where you intend to spend a little time, you should greet the angels and saints who watch over that place. You should beg your good angel to salute them on your behalf, and you should ask their permission, as lords of that place, to pass through or stop over. Remember that they might in all justice forbid you to enter or pass through, because you are sinners, unworthy to walk on the face of the earth, and because your sins might perhaps draw down some just punishment of God upon the places where you dwell, or through which you pass. All these considerations give you good reason to imitate St. Dominic, who, when he entered any town,

begged God not to annihilate it on account of his sins. So it is good to pray to the angels and saints who protect the places we live in or visit, to glorify and love Our Lord for you, and to make up for the: faults you may commit while you are in these places.

When you enter upon any kind of transaction with other people, you should always invoke their guardian angels and patron saints, praying that they may dispose them to do whatever tends more to the glory of God in the business you are transacting with them.

It is also an excellent practice to select a special order of saints on All Saints' day, and a particular choir of angels on St. Michael's day, choosing to honor them, or rather Jesus in them, in a more particular manner during that year, as has been explained. A practical application will be given below.

The choirs of angels are as follows:

The Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominations, Virtues of Heaven, Powers, Principalities, Seraphim, and Cherubim.

The orders of Saints are:

The Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Priests, Confessors, Virgins, Widows and the Holy Innocents.

Now in order to render it a simple matter for you to honor Jesus in the saints and the saints i n Jesus, I shall put it in practical form in the two following prayers. I shall apply them to St. John the Evangelist, and you may address similar prayers to any saint in particular.

XVI. PRAYER TO OUR LORD, HONORING Him IN ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST

0 Jesus, I adore Thee in all that Thou art and all that Thou hast ever accomplished in all Thy saints, especially in the blessed Apostle and Evangelist St. John. 0 Great Jesus, Thou art in all things, and I desire to see and to honor Thee only in all things, especially in the saints, and in Thy beloved disciple St. John. Thou are everything in Him; Thou art his being, his sanctity, his joy, and his glory. How admirable art Thou, my Jesus, in all Thy saints and particularly St. John! How beloved and glorified art Thou in him! How I rejoice, my Saviour, and how I bless Thee for all the glory Thou dost give to Thyself through this great apostle!

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0 Good Jesus, I offer Thee all die honor and love ever accorded Thee by this divine evangelist. I give myself all to Thee; annihilate in me everything that displeases Thee and grant me a share in the graces Thou hast given to the great St. John, especially his humility, his specially tender love for Thee, his boundless charity towards his neighbor, and all his other virtues.

Xvii. Prayer to St. John the Evangelist

0 blessed Apostle and Evangelist St. John, I adore and honor Jesus in thee. and I honor and venerate thee in Jesus with all the powers of my soul. I thank thee with my whole heart for the ardent love and faithful service thou didst render to my Saviour. I offer myself to thee; give me forever to Jesus. By thy prayers and merits destroy in me all that is contrary to His glory. Use me, if it please thee, as a creature completely at thy disposal, to glorify and love Him as thou dost see fit. Grant that I may share in thy most pure love for Him and in all thy remarkable virtues. Love Him and glorify Him for me. Make up for all the failings Of which I have been guilty and may yet be guilty, in His love and His service, and give Him a hundredfold return for all the love and honor I ought to give Him. Include my love in all the loving praises thou hast ever given and shalt give to Him forever. Pray to Him for me, that I may no longer live except to love Him, that I might die a thousand times, were it possible, rather than offend Him, and obtain for me the favor that everything in me, past, present and future, may be transformed into praise and love for Him. Finally, obtain for me the grace to die in the practice of His most pure love.

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Annual Retreats and Some Other

Spiritual Exercises

Xviii. Excellence and Practice of Annual Retreats

It is a most holy and most important thing, the usefulness of which cannot be perfectly known except to those who try it out, to devote a little time each year entirely to God, and to give oneself to spiritual exercises and prayer with exceptional care. just as people in the world occasionally have banquets, over and above their daily meals, and enjoy themselves heartily at these festive gatherings, so, too, it is very appropriate for all Christians, who profess to live a holy life, to add to their ordinary exercises of devotion some exceptional feasting and rejoicing of the spirit, by applying themselves to God and busying themselves with loving and glorifying Him with more affection and fervor than usual. It is indeed in this that perfect joy and true delight consist, namely, in association and conversation with God by means Of holy prayer.

To this St. Paul exhorts not only the religious, but all Christians, married or unmarried, advising them to depart, for a certain space, from the mutual practices and obligations of their state, and devote themselves exclusively to prayer.

This custom has been practised in the Church of God down through the ages. We read of many saints and prelates of the Church who, putting aside the cares of their normal activities and domestic affairs, frequently withdrew for a few days into solitary places, to concentrate on the contemplation, love, and glory of God.

This is what I call an annual retreat, as it takes place every year in all religious communities. It i s also practised by many people in the world, who each year set aside three or four days in which they bid farewell entirely to all cares for earthly things, and withdraw into a religious house to devote themselves to exercises of piety and divine love.

You should not fail to give yourself to the practice of prayer and

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the love of God with more care and fervor during days of retreat in the way prescribed for you by your spiritual directors.

Your retreat ought to be made with these chief ends in view:

1. To continue and honor the various retreats of Jesus, for example, His retreat from all eternity i n the bosom of His Father; His retreat for nine months in the bosom of His Mother; His retreat in the stable at Bethlehem for forty days; in Egypt for seven years; at Nazareth for the whole extent of His hidden life , which lasted until He was thirty years old; for forty days in the desert; in heaven and in the glory of the Father, ever since the Ascension; and in the Blessed Sacrament, where He is, as it were, always in retreat, in the hidden Eucharistic life, and so shall be until the end of time. Also offer it in honor of the retreats made by the Blessed Virgin, and her part in the retreats of her Son. So, the first aim, the first and foremost intention of your retreat ought to be to love and glorify Jesus and His most holy Mother, and to unite yourself always more and more to both Mother and Son.

2. To atone, during the time of the retreat, for the negligences and faults you have committed during the year, against the love and glory of Jesus and Mary.

3. To renew your desires and your strength, to dispose yourself for the reception of fresh graces, i n order to walk more courageously in the ways of divine love, and destroy more completely all the obstacles encountered as we advance along the road to Paradise, our eternal retreat.

You ought to regard your annual retreat as a foretaste of heaven, and the time thus spent as a small portion of eternity. You should strive during this time to reproduce what is accomplished in heaven and i n eternity, beginning here below the life and activities that are to be your everlasting occupation in heaven, to contemplate, love and glorify God as He is contemplated, loved and glorified without interruption i n heaven. You should also employ the time spent in retreat as if you had no more time remaining to love and glorify Jesus, and atone for the faults you have committed against His glory and love. You should above all affirm before Him that you desire to devote yourself to these holy exercises, not for your own particular consolation,

merit and interest, but only for His pleasure and for His pure glory.

As members of religious communities customarily renew their vows at the time of their retreat, I shall here set down a prayer to Jesus to foster the proper dispositions for this important renewal.